Q: What does on-demand actually mean here?
A: The whole course is unlocked the moment you enroll, and nothing about it is scheduled. There is no cohort, no start date and no session you have to be awake for. You open the platform when it suits you - before a shift, after service, on a slow Tuesday with a dram in front of you - and pick up exactly where you left off. Video modules, interactive components, study guides, practice questions and mock examinations are all there from day one. Finish the WSET Level 2 Award in Spirits in a fortnight if you are driven, or take six unhurried months. Nobody will chase you.
Q: Are there live webinars or a live instructor?
A: No, and we want to be completely straight about that before you buy. This is the On-Demand format: there are no live webinars, no scheduled classes and no instructor teaching to a timetable. What you get instead is a fully built, deeply visual course you control entirely, with practice questions and mock exams to tell you where you stand. If you know that a scheduled class is what actually gets you to open the book, email support@napavalleywineacademy.com before enrolling and we will tell you what instructor-led and in-person Level 2 Spirits options are running.
Q: Who wrote and recorded the course?
A: Our head spirits educator, Liz Pirnat, who holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits and the WSET Level 3 Award in Spirits, and was named our WSET Certified Educator for Spirits. Her credentials go a long way past paper: she is an Executive Bourbon Steward through the Stave and Thief Society, studied at the Springbank Whisky School in Campbeltown, holds the Consejo Regulador del Tequila's "T" certification, and is a Master of Baijiu. When the course explains why an Islay malt smells the way it does or what the Tequila regulations actually permit, that is someone who has stood in the distillery talking.
Q: How long do I have access?
A: A full 12 months from enrollment. Since WSET puts the qualification at 26 hours of total study, that is a very generous window - and it is also your exam deadline, so treat the two as one clock rather than two.
Q: How soon can I start after buying?
A: Within about 30 minutes. Your course login arrives by email, and you redeem the official WSET eBook from inside the course straight away - so you can be watching the first distillation module on the evening you enroll rather than waiting for a term to begin.
Q: How long will it take me?
A: WSET specifies a Total Qualification Time of 26 hours for the Level 2 Award in Spirits: 15 guided learning hours, of which one is the examination itself, plus around 11 hours of private study. At four or five hours a week that is five or six weeks. Note that this is slightly lighter than the Level 2 Award in Wines at 28 hours - the spirits syllabus is narrower but more technical.
Q: What is actually inside the course?
A: The mechanics of distillation first - pot stills against column stills, and exactly how the configuration shapes purity and flavour - then the world category by category: whisky and whiskey from Scotland, the United States, Canada and Japan; rum and other sugar cane spirits; Tequila and Mezcal; vodka; gin; brandy and Cognac; and liqueurs and flavoured spirits. Alongside that you learn label terminology, what drives style, quality and price, spirits service and storage, the structure of the classic cocktail families, and the WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Spirits®, which is the part that changes how you drink for good.
Q: Will I learn to make cocktails?
A: You will learn to understand them, which is more useful behind a bar than a list of recipes. The course deconstructs the core cocktail families so you can see how sweetness, acidity, alcohol and bitterness interact - which is what lets you build a balanced drink you have never made before, fix one that is not working, and recommend a serve to a guest with confidence. It is not a bartending certification, and it does not teach technique behind the stick.
Q: Do I need to buy spirits, and how much will that cost?
A: Yes, and you should budget for it properly before enrolling, because tasting samples are not included in the course fee. The specification inside your course materials lists roughly eighteen recommended samples across six families - fruit spirits, whisky and whiskey, sugar cane spirits, Tequila and Mezcal, vodka, and flavoured spirits and vermouth - and you source them yourself. The good news is that spirits keep: unlike a wine course you are not racing an open bottle, and miniatures or a split with a classmate will get you through most of the list without buying eighteen full bottles.
Q: Is there a tasting kit I can just order?
A: Not as a standard add-on at Level 2 Spirits - unlike our wine courses, which have curated 100 mL sample kits from a partner. Spirits shipping is far more restricted, which is why the course gives you a named recommended list instead. If you would like help sourcing anything on it, email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and ask; our spirits team knows which categories are hardest to find in which states.
Q: Is the textbook included, and can I get it in print?
A: Yes to the first. The official WSET eBook is included and you redeem it from inside your online course within about 30 minutes of purchase - WSET spirits courses now include the digital textbook by default. If you would rather have paper, and plenty of people annotate better on paper, the printed WSET Level 2 Award in Spirits textbook is available separately for $65. Buy it at the same time as the course if you know you want it, so the two arrive together in your planning rather than a fortnight apart.
Q: What exactly does the $599 cover?
A: Twelve months of unlimited access to the On-Demand platform, all the multimedia modules on production, categories and service, the tasting modules built on the WSET Systematic Approach, study guides, practice questions and mock examinations, the official WSET eBook, and your WSET exam registration and exam fee. Costing extra: your tasting samples, the printed textbook at $65 if you want one, and optional study tools such as our Level 2 Spirits Complete Exam Prep Package at $79, electronic flashcards at $49 or practice question sets at $49. Group discounts apply automatically when you book together: 5% for two students, 8% for three and 10% for four.
Q: Do I need a qualification before this?
A: No formal prerequisite, but Level 2 Spirits assumes some basic spirits knowledge and moves quickly into production detail - it does not begin by explaining what distillation is. If you are starting from scratch, the WSET Level 1 Award in Spirits is the better first step and we would rather tell you that now. All students must be at least 21 years of age, and WSET advises candidates sitting the exam in English as a second language to have IELTS 6.0 or above.
Q: How does this compare with the in-person Level 2 Spirits course?
A: Price and pours are the difference. On-Demand is $599, entirely self-paced, and you source your own samples. The in-person course is $933 and runs to fixed dates with an educator in the room and the spirits poured in front of you - which for a technical, aroma-driven subject is a genuine advantage if you can make the dates. Both award the identical WSET Level 2 Award in Spirits and both use the identical remotely invigilated exam; the certificate does not record which you took. If tasting alongside an expert matters more to you than flexibility, pay the extra.
Q: Is an on-demand qualification taken as seriously as a classroom one?
A: Yes, and it is worth being unambiguous. The WSET Level 2 Award in Spirits is a single global qualification set by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in London, delivered against one published specification - Issue 2, revised in 2022 - examined by the same paper and graded to one standard worldwide. Your certificate does not say on-demand on it. What differs between formats and providers is the teaching and the preparation, not the credential.
Q: What is this worth in the trade?
A: Level 2 Spirits is the qualification that lets you talk about production credibly rather than repeating marketing copy - which is exactly what distinguishes a good bartender, a spirits buyer or a brand ambassador from someone who has simply drunk a lot. It is widely asked for in bar programmes, retail spirits buying, distribution and hospitality management, and it is the natural grounding before the WSET Level 3 Award in Spirits. Napa Valley Wine Academy is the largest and most-awarded WSET Approved Programme Provider in the United States, which is what your certificate is backed by.
Q: Can I get a refund if I change my mind?
A: Because your course access and digital textbook are issued within about 30 minutes of purchase, this course is non-refundable once those credentials have been sent - there is no cohort to transfer out of. Please make sure Level 2 is the right level before you buy, and email support@napavalleywineacademy.com first if you are unsure. Our General Policies page carries the full terms.
Q: The course is on-demand - is the exam on-demand too?
A: No, and this is the one genuine catch, so read it before you buy. The course has no schedule; the exam does. The WSET Level 2 Spirits examination is sat online with remote invigilation on fixed published dates, so you choose from a list rather than sitting whenever you feel ready. Your registration and fee are included in the $599, and you must register within 12 months of enrolling, from the exam registration page inside your course.
Q: When are the exam dates?
A: Currently scheduled sittings, all 11 AM to 12 PM Pacific and subject to change, are 19 August 2026, 23 September 2026, 24 October 2026, 9 December 2026, 10 February 2027, 17 April 2027, 12 June 2027, 11 August 2027 and 8 December 2027. Sittings usually fall every six to eight weeks, but do look at that list against your own calendar before enrolling - there is a longer gap between August and December 2027 than elsewhere in the schedule.
Q: How far ahead do I need to register for the exam?
A: Registration closes roughly 14 days before each sitting, so decide at least a fortnight out rather than on the week. Two deadlines are worth writing down: the 14-day cut-off for the sitting you want, and the 12-month limit from enrollment for using your included registration at all. If that 12-month window closes unused, the included registration expires and a fresh exam fee applies. This is the most common way self-paced students come unstuck - not the spirits, the calendar.
Q: What equipment do I need for the online exam?
A: A laptop or desktop computer - tablets are not permitted as your primary device - with a working webcam, microphone and speakers, plus a mobile phone to act as a secondary camera. You will also need government-issued photo ID, a reliable broadband connection and a quiet room where you will not be interrupted and cannot be overlooked. A proctor observes you for the full hour, so test your setup in advance rather than on the day. Our help centre has a remote exam quick start guide and a walkthrough video.
Q: What is the exam format, and what do I need to pass?
A: Fifty multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, one correct answer per question. The pass mark is 55%, which is 28 correct answers out of 50. Merit is awarded for 70 to 84%, which is 35 to 42 correct, and Distinction for 85% or above, which is 43 or more. There is no separately assessed tasting component at Level 2 - the samples you taste build your palate and your vocabulary, but they are not examined.
Q: What happens if I do not pass?
A: You resit without retaking the course. A Level 2 Spirits resit costs $220 and is booked the same way as your first attempt. If you simply need to move to a different sitting rather than resit, the exam transfer fee is $99. Neither is covered by the course price, so give yourself enough runway to be ready for the date you pick.
Q: When will I get my result and certificate?
A: WSET releases results within about two to four weeks of the exam. As soon as you pass you receive an official digital certificate and badge - WSET no longer ships paper certificates or physical pins - so you can put it on LinkedIn or send it to an employer the same day, and describe yourself as WSET Level 2 Certified in Spirits.
Q: What comes after Level 2 Spirits?
A: The WSET Level 3 Award in Spirits, which is a substantial step up: a two-part theory paper including ten written answers and a separately assessed blind tasting of two samples, against 84 hours of study rather than 26. Level 2 is the grounding it assumes. Plenty of people stop at Level 2 perfectly happily - it is a destination as well as a step.
Q: Can I speak to someone before I buy?
A: Please do. Email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and our student support team will help you judge whether Level 2 matches your starting point, whether On-Demand or a taught format suits how you actually work, which exam sitting fits your calendar, and what sourcing the tasting samples will realistically cost you where you live. We would rather talk you into the right course than sell you the wrong one.
